Even in Seven, Odhran had heard about what happened to Morgate Town. Once a flourishing city, now brought to ruin by a now-defunct guild. Nonetheless, he entered the wasteland of a town, filled only with the diseased, dying, and destitute. A normal man would have never even bother coming to this town, but Odhran was no normal man. He was a God, and his loyal courtiers wished to perform a test. Entering the town square, Odhran would use his Ark of Embodiment to sprout wings out from his back, fluttering up into the air.
"People of the town of Morgate! I am Odhran Aegisbane, and today I have graced your poor and lowly selves with the presence of a God. I am the God of the Celestial Spirit Realm, and you are the lucky folks who will bear witness to the duel between Celestial Spirits! Your town has been chosen as the arena for this test of strength and loyalty, and you are permitted to observe the battle and marvel at the glorious power of those from another dimension!"
His speech was interrupted by a rock flying towards him. Odhran caused the rock to sprout wings of its own, fluttering above his head. The Ark of Embodiment allowed him to do anything he wished, and it allowed him to prevent anything he did not wish to happen to him, and he deemed it as a slight upon his divine presence to be pelted by a stone on the ground. The small winged pebble suddenly shifted into a child-sized rock golem with wings, fluttering down to the ground.
"Perhaps you do not understand the full extent of my gracious offer. You are to bear witness to what few have survived to see! And, to the sinner who threw this lovely stone at me, you bear witness to the power of a God himself! I am one who can control life itself, creating something out of nothing, and you are to bear witness to this! Of course, sinner will not be tolerated, so I shall first deal with you. Step forward, heretic!" The crowd that had formed stayed silent for a moment. Figuring he still needed to make a point, he conjured forth poisonous tendrils to wrap around his body, ready to strike at any. Before he could even say that he would strike down more people if the culprit had not been revealed, the crowd regurgitated a worried-looking gaunt man. "You are the heretic who dared to try to strike a God? Perhaps I should make a lesson of you. Crusader! Strike him down!"
The golem obliged, marching slowly over to the man. He attempted to escape, only to find his feet trapped by the ground warping around his feet. His face warped into panic as the golem neared him. It fluttered slowly above him, letting itself drop as the man screamed from his head being crushed. An audible gasp came from the crowd as Odhran laughed. "This is a being merely formed by my imagination out of a simple pebble. Now see what the power of a Celestial Spirit can do!"
He called forth a wind to drag the keys out of his pockets, as the three primary spirits he used emerged. Arnaluuk, Lupa, and Scorpio descended onto the ground like angels coming down from heaven, their brilliant light shimmering in the darkness of Morgate. Oddly enough, Scorpio was in a female form as opposed to the usual male form he adopted. Perhaps it was simply to ensure that the female personality existed, but he was uncertain. Odhran extended an arm to point towards the golem, indicating that he wanted his own creation destroyed. Crusader was merely created for demonstrative purpose, after all. The three raced to see who could destroy the golem first, with Scorpio and her Sand Arrows ultimately winning the race. Lupa did not have time to reach the foe, and Arnaluuk's spells took too long to cast, leaving the Zodiac as the one to destroy the creature in a single strike.
"Now, feel joy, mortals! I have blessed you with a glorious sight! These three Spirits have long wondered which of them was the strongest between them, and you shall bear witness to their struggle!"
He finished his announcement, raising the empty fountain into a branching stone tree that ended in a fitting throne for him to view the battle from. He clapped his hands, akin to how a King would announce a gladiatorial fight to begin.
The three seemed to vanish from sight as soon as the battle begun. Lupa's paw met with Arnaluuk's trident met with Scorpio's clawed hand. Power surged around them, a mixture of ice, sand, and wind bubbling in a rough, blended mesh of pure magical essence. They disengaged from the combat, each leaping a fair way back. Scorpio was the first to strike with magic, firing out a Sand Bomb immediately, which both Arnaluuk and Lupa managed to dodge out of the way of. The explosion and the shockwaves from it sent some of the ring of spectators flying backwards. Arnaluuk and Lupa both seemed to agree that Scorpio was the biggest threat, as they both rushed towards her. A smile crept onto her face as the two neared. Arnaluuk was the first to strike, stabbing out her trident. Scorpio nimbly craned her body to the right, her left arm catching the underside of the trident to block. Without even a single hint of hesitation, she then ducked out of the way of Lupa's incoming paw, dodging the follow-up strike of a bite before countering with a kick to the wolf's chest. Arnaluuk had disengaged her trident once more, slashing it akin to a sword, each slice being deftly parried by Scorpio's arms. Arnaluuk swiped horizontally with her trident, causing Scorpio to back-flip out of danger, firing off a Sand Blast as she soared through the air. Arnaluuk easily blocked it, but Lupa was now upon the Zodiac. Lupa crushed two paws against Scorpio, who seemed to defy gravity, stagnating in the air as the paws, imbued with the elements of wind and fire, pressed hard against Scorpio's unyielding gauntlets. Arnaluuk tossed her trident at the Zodiac now, who pushed the Pterolykos upwards before sending the trident plummeting to the ground with a kick.
The trident impaled itself in the ground, cracking the area around it. Arnaluuk's smile told Odhran that this was planned. The Frozen Sea Spirit outstretched her arms as icy spikes shot forth from the ground. One caught Scorpio's leg as she was falling, before the spikes all shattered, sending Scorpio back to the recesses of the earth. The unfortunate souls that opted to view the battle from the vantage point near Scorpio were too effected by Arnaluuk's spell, sending many of them collapsing to the ground. Lupa now dive-bombed herself towards Scorpio, who rolled out of the way and fired a point-blank Sand Blast into the winged wolf's face. Before Arnaluuk could retaliate, Scorpio was already upon her, now going on the offensive. She swung her fists like missiles, Arnaluuk trading success between blocking or parrying with her trident and being struck by Scorpio's relentless assault. Try as she might, Arnaluuk was simply unable to keep up with the hellacious onslaught of the Zodiac. The only respite she was able to achieve was when Lupa flew in once more. Though her paw strikes were unable to fully make contact with the Zodiac, it was enough to push her back. Lupa then slammed a paw on the ground, sending waves of earth to crash in the area around her. The buildings of the town slowly began to crumble from the force applied, and it sent Arnaluuk flying backwards into one of the nearby ruined houses, crushing it to rubble. Scorpio, however, remained minimally effected. Rather than attempt to dodge, she leaped in the air towards the wolf, spiking her head into the ground with a vicious right handed punch. Lupa crashed to the ground before Odhran returned her to the Celestial Spirit Realm. He looked around to see the damage. Many of the citizens who had remained were now did, but after the initial blast from Arnaluuk's spell, many of the spectators had fled in fear of death. Arnaluuk slowly emerged from the house she had been sent through, only to be met with the slowly encroaching Scorpio. Arnaluuk fired off balls of ice from the tip of her staff, which were easily met with sand-covered fists of the Zodiac, occasionally throwing in a flair of Sand Arrows for good measure. Arnaluuk finally abandoned the ranged game, sprinting towards the Golden Key, hoping to pierce her normal ally with the trident. Scorpio merely stopped in her tracks, catching the trident in one hand before delivering an elbow to the top of the ice-formed spear, causing it to shatter underfoot. Scorpio was about to deliver a blow to Arnaluuk's head before Odhran recalled her to the Celestial Spirit Realm.
"A truly impressive showing by the Zodiac Spirit, Scorpio! Perhaps I should have expected this outcome, but even I am impressed by your sheer power."
Scorpio giggled. "I get a bit more focused when I'm like this. Like, as much as I like being a guy, I just find that being a girl is a lot more easy to be focused on everything. Anyways, seeya!"
Scorpio disappeared, leaving Odhran to flutter away on his wings.
WC: 1576
"People of the town of Morgate! I am Odhran Aegisbane, and today I have graced your poor and lowly selves with the presence of a God. I am the God of the Celestial Spirit Realm, and you are the lucky folks who will bear witness to the duel between Celestial Spirits! Your town has been chosen as the arena for this test of strength and loyalty, and you are permitted to observe the battle and marvel at the glorious power of those from another dimension!"
His speech was interrupted by a rock flying towards him. Odhran caused the rock to sprout wings of its own, fluttering above his head. The Ark of Embodiment allowed him to do anything he wished, and it allowed him to prevent anything he did not wish to happen to him, and he deemed it as a slight upon his divine presence to be pelted by a stone on the ground. The small winged pebble suddenly shifted into a child-sized rock golem with wings, fluttering down to the ground.
"Perhaps you do not understand the full extent of my gracious offer. You are to bear witness to what few have survived to see! And, to the sinner who threw this lovely stone at me, you bear witness to the power of a God himself! I am one who can control life itself, creating something out of nothing, and you are to bear witness to this! Of course, sinner will not be tolerated, so I shall first deal with you. Step forward, heretic!" The crowd that had formed stayed silent for a moment. Figuring he still needed to make a point, he conjured forth poisonous tendrils to wrap around his body, ready to strike at any. Before he could even say that he would strike down more people if the culprit had not been revealed, the crowd regurgitated a worried-looking gaunt man. "You are the heretic who dared to try to strike a God? Perhaps I should make a lesson of you. Crusader! Strike him down!"
The golem obliged, marching slowly over to the man. He attempted to escape, only to find his feet trapped by the ground warping around his feet. His face warped into panic as the golem neared him. It fluttered slowly above him, letting itself drop as the man screamed from his head being crushed. An audible gasp came from the crowd as Odhran laughed. "This is a being merely formed by my imagination out of a simple pebble. Now see what the power of a Celestial Spirit can do!"
He called forth a wind to drag the keys out of his pockets, as the three primary spirits he used emerged. Arnaluuk, Lupa, and Scorpio descended onto the ground like angels coming down from heaven, their brilliant light shimmering in the darkness of Morgate. Oddly enough, Scorpio was in a female form as opposed to the usual male form he adopted. Perhaps it was simply to ensure that the female personality existed, but he was uncertain. Odhran extended an arm to point towards the golem, indicating that he wanted his own creation destroyed. Crusader was merely created for demonstrative purpose, after all. The three raced to see who could destroy the golem first, with Scorpio and her Sand Arrows ultimately winning the race. Lupa did not have time to reach the foe, and Arnaluuk's spells took too long to cast, leaving the Zodiac as the one to destroy the creature in a single strike.
"Now, feel joy, mortals! I have blessed you with a glorious sight! These three Spirits have long wondered which of them was the strongest between them, and you shall bear witness to their struggle!"
He finished his announcement, raising the empty fountain into a branching stone tree that ended in a fitting throne for him to view the battle from. He clapped his hands, akin to how a King would announce a gladiatorial fight to begin.
The three seemed to vanish from sight as soon as the battle begun. Lupa's paw met with Arnaluuk's trident met with Scorpio's clawed hand. Power surged around them, a mixture of ice, sand, and wind bubbling in a rough, blended mesh of pure magical essence. They disengaged from the combat, each leaping a fair way back. Scorpio was the first to strike with magic, firing out a Sand Bomb immediately, which both Arnaluuk and Lupa managed to dodge out of the way of. The explosion and the shockwaves from it sent some of the ring of spectators flying backwards. Arnaluuk and Lupa both seemed to agree that Scorpio was the biggest threat, as they both rushed towards her. A smile crept onto her face as the two neared. Arnaluuk was the first to strike, stabbing out her trident. Scorpio nimbly craned her body to the right, her left arm catching the underside of the trident to block. Without even a single hint of hesitation, she then ducked out of the way of Lupa's incoming paw, dodging the follow-up strike of a bite before countering with a kick to the wolf's chest. Arnaluuk had disengaged her trident once more, slashing it akin to a sword, each slice being deftly parried by Scorpio's arms. Arnaluuk swiped horizontally with her trident, causing Scorpio to back-flip out of danger, firing off a Sand Blast as she soared through the air. Arnaluuk easily blocked it, but Lupa was now upon the Zodiac. Lupa crushed two paws against Scorpio, who seemed to defy gravity, stagnating in the air as the paws, imbued with the elements of wind and fire, pressed hard against Scorpio's unyielding gauntlets. Arnaluuk tossed her trident at the Zodiac now, who pushed the Pterolykos upwards before sending the trident plummeting to the ground with a kick.
The trident impaled itself in the ground, cracking the area around it. Arnaluuk's smile told Odhran that this was planned. The Frozen Sea Spirit outstretched her arms as icy spikes shot forth from the ground. One caught Scorpio's leg as she was falling, before the spikes all shattered, sending Scorpio back to the recesses of the earth. The unfortunate souls that opted to view the battle from the vantage point near Scorpio were too effected by Arnaluuk's spell, sending many of them collapsing to the ground. Lupa now dive-bombed herself towards Scorpio, who rolled out of the way and fired a point-blank Sand Blast into the winged wolf's face. Before Arnaluuk could retaliate, Scorpio was already upon her, now going on the offensive. She swung her fists like missiles, Arnaluuk trading success between blocking or parrying with her trident and being struck by Scorpio's relentless assault. Try as she might, Arnaluuk was simply unable to keep up with the hellacious onslaught of the Zodiac. The only respite she was able to achieve was when Lupa flew in once more. Though her paw strikes were unable to fully make contact with the Zodiac, it was enough to push her back. Lupa then slammed a paw on the ground, sending waves of earth to crash in the area around her. The buildings of the town slowly began to crumble from the force applied, and it sent Arnaluuk flying backwards into one of the nearby ruined houses, crushing it to rubble. Scorpio, however, remained minimally effected. Rather than attempt to dodge, she leaped in the air towards the wolf, spiking her head into the ground with a vicious right handed punch. Lupa crashed to the ground before Odhran returned her to the Celestial Spirit Realm. He looked around to see the damage. Many of the citizens who had remained were now did, but after the initial blast from Arnaluuk's spell, many of the spectators had fled in fear of death. Arnaluuk slowly emerged from the house she had been sent through, only to be met with the slowly encroaching Scorpio. Arnaluuk fired off balls of ice from the tip of her staff, which were easily met with sand-covered fists of the Zodiac, occasionally throwing in a flair of Sand Arrows for good measure. Arnaluuk finally abandoned the ranged game, sprinting towards the Golden Key, hoping to pierce her normal ally with the trident. Scorpio merely stopped in her tracks, catching the trident in one hand before delivering an elbow to the top of the ice-formed spear, causing it to shatter underfoot. Scorpio was about to deliver a blow to Arnaluuk's head before Odhran recalled her to the Celestial Spirit Realm.
"A truly impressive showing by the Zodiac Spirit, Scorpio! Perhaps I should have expected this outcome, but even I am impressed by your sheer power."
Scorpio giggled. "I get a bit more focused when I'm like this. Like, as much as I like being a guy, I just find that being a girl is a lot more easy to be focused on everything. Anyways, seeya!"
Scorpio disappeared, leaving Odhran to flutter away on his wings.
WC: 1576
